Everything Happens
by Rapunzella
Summary: AU. Penny survives the death ray explosion, but Billy/Dr. Horrible is injured. Penny saves her friend, and stands up to the "hero" who almost killed him. Now Billy finds himself with a chance to make a new life for himself. It won't be like he planned it…but it could turn out to be better than he ever dreamed. A story of hope, redemption, and love.
1. When Plans Go Horribly Wrong

**Hi! My friend and I just watched _Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog _for the second time, and we agreed that the ending was too sad. I started this story with the intention of writing a multi-chapter story, and after a good ten minutes of wailing about how unfair it was that DHSAB ends the way it does, I knew it was time to continue this story. I warn you it may be a slow process, so bear with me and don't despair if I take a while to update.**

"In a few moments, we'll unveil the statue of the man himself," the mayor announced. The crowd burst into applause. "Thank you, thank you," said the mayor, nodding and smiling, "Justice has a name, and the name that it has, besides justice, is Captain Hammer. Ladies and gentlemen: your hero!"

Underneath the red curtain, Billy was trying his best to stay perfectly still. Drops of sweat rolled down the sides of his face; he gripped the freeze ray tighter to keep his hands from shaking. _Just a few more minutes_, he told himself, _wait_.

Captain Hammer stepped up to the podium––through the fabric it was impossible to see more than a silhouette, but Billy could picture the idiotic grin on his arch nemesis' face. His mouth twitched into a slight grin of his own. _That's right, you jerk, just keep on smiling._

"Thank you, Mayor, for those kind words," said Captain Hammer. "I hate the homeless…" he began, then, looking down at the notecard he held in his hand, he added, "––ness problem that plagues our city." He put down the cards, and launched into some ridiculous spiel about everyone being a hero––he was not gifted at speaking on the fly.

Billy bit his lip. _Did he seriously just call Penny a nerd? How dare he! Penny's gorgeous; that jerk doesn't deserve her! _His white-gloved finger touched the trigger on the freeze ray. _It's time._

With a swoosh, the red fabric slid to the floor. A blast of blue-green electric energy rippled through the air, enveloping Captain Hammer, who was immediately frozen. Billy let loose his best evil laugh that he had been working on for so long. All eyes slowly turned and fixed on him. The audience shrank back in their seats as the mysterious white-clad figure leapt from the platform and made his way slowly down the aisle toward the stage. "Look at these people," he scoffed, "Amazing how sheep'll show up for the slaughter. No one condemning you––lined up like lemmings you led to the water. Why can't they see what I see? Why can't they hear the lies? Maybe the fee's too pricey for them to realize…" He jumped onto the stage and leaned over to Hammer's frozen form. "Your disguise is slipping," he whispered, sneering, "I think you're slipping." He hopped down, addressing the audience. "Now that your 'savior' is still as the grave, you're beginning to fear me," he said, a maniacal grin slowly spreading over his face. He leaned over a pig-tailed girl sporting Captain Hammer's image on her shirt, and hissed in her face, "I bring you pain, the kind you can't suffer quietly…"

People in the crowd were beginning to shift nervously in their seats. With a dramatic twirl, Billy pulled the death ray out from behind his back and fired a few threatening red blasts into the air. The crowd scattered, ducking for cover and trying to get out of the room any way they could. Billy stepped back up onto the stage, bringing the death ray level with Captain Hammer's face. Out of the corner of his eye, he scanned the room for the one person he hoped he would not find. _No sign of Penny…good._ He swallowed hard as he took aim. _This is it. Here goes._

A squeaking sound made him look over his shoulder. The freeze ray was slowly winding down. "That's not a good sound…" he remarked aloud. He turned back to face his arch-nemesis, and was met with a hard blow to his jaw that sent him flying across the room. The death ray slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor; Hammer picked it up, grinning. Catching his breath, Billy tried to sit up, but found Hammer's foot planted on his chest, forcing back onto the floor. "A death ray!" he exclaimed sarcastically, "Looks like Dr. Horrible's moving up! Let's see if this one works any better than your other ones." He pointed the weapon at Billy's face. "Don't––" Billy gasped, but Hammer cut him off. "I don't have time for your warnings. You give my regards to St. Peter––or whoever has his job, but in hell!"

His finger closed around the trigger. There was a deafening explosion and a flash of red-orange light. The impact sent Billy skidding into the wall; he felt a sharp pain slash through his body, and then everything faded to darkness…

…

Penny poked her head out from beneath the chair she had been hiding under. "Billy!" she screamed, as she saw the blond-haired man crash into the wall and slump on the floor. She got to her feet and raced across the room. "Oh my gosh, Billy, are you okay?" She dropped to her knees beside him, gingerly reaching out to touch his blood-spattered white coat. "Somebody call an ambulance!" she yelled.

Captain Hammer was lying on his back, writhing on the floor, crying like a small child. "Oh, I'm in pain!" he moaned, "I think this is what pain feels like! Oh, Momma! Someone maternal! Penny!" he whined.

"Just hang on," the young woman replied, "I'll be with you in a second." Hammer jumped to his feet, pushing several people out of the way. He grabbed Penny's arm. "Penny, what are you doing? I need your help!" Penny quickly glanced up at him. "You're not even bleeding!" she said. "Just give me a second; Billy needs help."

"Are you serious?" Hammer scoffed, "Why do you even care about him? He's the bad guy; he doesn't matter."

Penny looked down at the unconscious form beside her. A scarlet stain spread from a jagged piece of metal that had ripped through both fabric and skin. She placed a hand on Billy's chest, wishing she knew how to help him. "He's still breathing," she said softly. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed 9-1-1. A pair of black-gloved hands seized her, pulling her up off the floor. "Didn't your hear me?" Captain Hammer growled, "Ignore him; he doesn't matter!"

"He's my friend!" Penny protested, "And bad guy or not he's been a whole lot nicer to me than you ever were!" Hammer tightened his grip on her. "You're mine," he hissed into her ear. "And as long as you belong to me, you're gonna do things my way." He leaned in to kiss her; she slapped him across the face. "No!" she yelled. "I don't want you. You're not at all what I thought you were. I don't know why I ever let you talk me into this relationship, but I'm ending it now. It's over." Hammer stood for a moment staring at her in shock. "I never want to see your face again," said Penny, "Get out."

At that moment, blaring sirens echoed through the room. The door burst open, and a crowd of policemen, paramedics, and firefighters burst in. "What's going on? What's the emergency? Who called 9-1-1? Where's the fire?"

"Where's Dr. Horrible?" one of the policemen demanded.

"Officer," said Penny, pointing an accusing finger at Captain Hammer, "This is the man who threatened the mayor in his office last week. He's also the one who caused a major explosion just now, endangering the lives of innocent civilians." The police officer stepped toward Hammer with a pair of handcuffs. "You're under arrest," he said gruffly. "B-but-but," Hammer protested, "Penny!"

"Come on, come on; let's go," said the policeman, hustling him out the door.

Penny called over two of the paramedics to help her wounded friend. "Hold on, Billy, buddy," she whispered, "You're gonna be okay."

**So…apparently I didn't manage to update this before I posted the second chapter, and I'm realizing this now for the first time. That would explain why the second chapter seems really redundant and makes no sense. My apologies. I'm going to be re-posting the second chapter soon as well, with some changes. Hope you like it :) T.G.**


	2. Broken Memories

**Here is the revised chapter 2! I had to rework it to weave in a crucial plot element––it's been used before, but hopefully not in this way (that is, I hope I'm not copying anyone else) and I **_**hope**_** I'll be able to make it work. Enjoy!**

Penny watched the two paramedics lift Billy onto a stretcher and get him into the ambulance waiting outside the town hall. As they began to close the doors behind them, one of the men saw her standing there, and reached out his hand to her; without a moment's hesitation, Penny took his hand and climbed into the ambulance. "You related?" the paramedic asked, nodding his head toward Billy. "Not really," said Penny, wondering how to explain her odd relationship to the injured man, "I'm…his friend."

As the ambulance sped down the street, she edged closer to Billy, trying to be near him while staying out of the paramedics' way, and rested her hand lightly on his shoulder. _What were you doing?_ she wondered silently. When the madman dressed in white with a huge gun in his hands had first appeared, she had been terrified. But at the same time, something about him seemed oddly familiar––that look of panicked helplessness when Captain Hammer had him pinned to the floor. It was that same expression she had seen in the blue-gray eyes of her laundry buddy, that made her heart ache for this lost and broken man. What had come over him? She never would have expected that shy, thoughtful Billy would attempt something so…horrible. And something told her that he did not really know why he was doing it either.

The ambulance pulled to a stop outside the emergency entrance of the hospital. The two paramedics rushed inside; Penny hurried after them, still wanting to stay close to Billy and make sure he was all right. Once they got inside, a group of people in pale blue scrubs surrounded them. "Billy Harris again?!" she heard one of the doctors exclaim, "Geez, what does this guy do for a living?" Penny felt a hand on her arm, gently but firmly drawing her away. "I'm sorry, Miss," said the nurse, "but I'm going to have to ask you to wait here." Penny watched helplessly as Billy was whisked away down a long hallway. She crumpled into a chair, her head in her hands. Now that she had nothing to do but wait, the tears she had been holding back began to flow down her cheeks. _Oh please, God_, she thought, _please let him be okay_.

…

A bright white light behind his eyelids pulled Billy back into consciousness. He blinked a couple of times, finding it hard to adjust to the light after so much darkness.

"Billy?" He tried to turn his head in the direction of the voice, and a burst of pain shot through his skull. He drew in a breath, and felt a sharp pain in his side. It seemed like everything hurt. Everything except for the light, gentle touch of a hand on his arm. "Billy, are you awake?" the soft, familiar voice asked.

"Penny?" Billy opened his eyes. White, blank walls; white sheets; metal rail on the bed: he was in the hospital. Again. And there was Penny, looking down at him. "Y-you…" Billy stammered, "Here…how…?"

"Shh," Penny chided, "Don't move. You were in surgery for over an hour. But you're gonna be fine." She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"What…what happened?"

"You were hurt pretty bad," said Penny, "Don't you remember?"

Billy stared blankly at her and slowly shook his head, grimacing in pain at the movement.

"No…"

"The doctor did say you had a concussion…" Penny mused. "But you remember who I am?"

"Penny…" Billy said, "Laundry. Wednesdays and Saturdays. Homeless shelter. Signatures…and, um…oh yeah, frozen yogurt!"

Penny nodded, holding back a giggle at his scattered recollections of her. "That's me," she said, "Now, do you know who you are?"

"Billy Harris." Penny tilted her head to one side. "Anything else?"

"Uh, William James Harris, I guess, if you want to be all formal, but, you know, nobody ever calls me that…ever."

"What's your job?"

"I don't…have one. Yet. And right now it looks like I'm not going to be doing much of anything for a while." Billy's eye twitched involuntarily; Penny was still staring at him, as if she expected him to say something more.

"What?" he finally asked.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" said Penny. Billy blinked nervously. He could feel a slight blush slowly creeping up his cheeks. _Should I tell her she's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen? Should I tell her I love her? _

"I just wanted to say…thanks. For––for staying with me, and, um, helping me, and…yeah. Thank you."

Penny smiled. "You've been through a lot," she said, "I should let you rest." She got up and smoothed the covers where she had been sitting. "I'll come back and visit."

"Promise?"

"I promise. I'll see you later, Billy buddy."

"Yeah. I'll be waiting––you know––here…" Billy's voice trailed off. He wasn't ready to say goodbye, but sheer exhaustion was starting to take over. He watched Penny go with a faint trace of a smile on his face. If only he could figure out what she wanted him to remember…


	3. Caring Hands and Frozen Yogurt

**Merry Christmas, dear readers! Thank you to anyone who's reading this––I know I haven't updated this story in forever. I recently rediscovered some of my old notes for this story, and it made me want to continue it. One of my New Year's resolutions is going to be finishing all of my stories in progress, so I can start working on some new ones as well! **

_He was bent over a workbench, twisting together wires and tightening tiny screws. The room was dimly lit, and smelled of chemicals. Papers were spread out across the bench––scale-drawings, plans for intricate machines, a blueprint of a building labeled "First National Bank." Above him was a white board covered in crude sketches and equations. A fizzing sound from the other side of the room made him turn; he pulled on a pair of heavy gloves and went to a table where an alarmingly green liquid was bubbling and steaming in a set of glass tubes. He poured some into a beaker, and held it up to the single bare light bulb. A loud knock on the door almost made him drop the glass––someone was knocking on the door, and something told him he could not be seen like this…_

Billy's eyes snapped open. His head spun slightly as the dream disappeared, and he blinked under the fluorescent lights. Someone was still knocking on the door of his hospital room. "Come in," he said. Penny peeked in the door. She was clutching a white paper bag in one hand. "You're looking better," she remarked, "How're you feeling?"

"Better," said Billy. _A whole lot better since you walked in, _he added silently. "You came back," he said. Penny smiled. "I promised I would, didn't I?" She pulled a chair up close to the bed and sat down next to him. She settled the paper bag in her lap, and peered inside with a puzzled face. "That's weird," she said, "I ordered one frozen yogurt and they gave me two." She looked up at Billy, grinning. "You don't happen to like frozen yogurt, do you?"

"Yeah! I mean, um, yes, please; that'd be great."

Billy sat up to take the slightly frosty cup and plastic spork she offered him. For a while they both ate in silence, savoring the cool, creamy taste of their favorite dessert. Billy felt like he ought to say something. "Sooo…" he started out tentatively, "Um, how are you?"

"I'm okay," said Penny. She kept her eyes on her frozen yogurt. A slight sigh escaped her lips.

"Are you sure? I mean, it's none of my business, but you seem kind of…down, I guess?"

"I'll be all right," said Penny.

"Do you, um––is there anything you want to talk about? You don't have to, I just thought, you know, if you want to, I'm, um…"

"I just broke up with my boyfriend."

"Oh." _So she's single…_ "I'm, uh, I'm sorry," said Billy.

"I'm not," Penny said matter-of-factly. "I'm sorry I waited so long. I should've seen Jack for what he really was. People think he's a hero, but he's not. He doesn't care about anyone else's needs or feelings. All he cares about is himself. Just because he's big and strong and popular he thinks he can have anything he wants––"

"Penny?" Billy cut her off. "You're driving a spork into the bed."

Penny looked down at the plastic utensil sticking out of the mattress. "Oops," she said, "Sorry about that." She pulled the spork out, and settled for stirring her frozen yogurt until it threatened to spill over the edge of the cup. Billy thought he saw a tear glistening in the corner of her eye. "Did he…hurt you?" he asked. Penny closed her eyes. "It was my fault," she whispered, "I should have seen him for what he was…I shouldn't have let him…and I tried to tell him 'No,' but he's so strong…It's all my fault."

"No!" Billy wanted so much to hold her and dry her tears, but he did not dare to touch her. "Don't say that. It isn't––you know it's not true. You are the sweetest, kindest person I've ever met, and you deserve someone who'll treat you like you're the most precious, wonderful thing in the world, because––" Billy cleared his throat. He had not meant to say that out loud. But, well, why not? "You're…a really special person. And I really hope you find somebody––who realizes that." Penny looked up at him, her blue eyes framed by wet lashes. "Thanks, Billy buddy," she said quietly.

She rummaged in her purse for a tissue and dabbed quickly at her eyes. "Oh, I don't know why I'm even talking about this; it doesn't matter now."

"Yes, it does," said Billy, "It matters to you, so…I mean, if you ever do want to talk, I'm…well, I won't be going anywhere for a while." Penny took his hand in hers and pressed it lightly. "Thank you," she said.

…

Penny had just left when a nurse came bustling into the room. "Excuse me, hon," she said, pulling back the bedclothes without much ceremony, "I just need to check on a few things." Before Billy could object to being called "hon," she had switched on the television at the foot of the bed––no doubt trying to provide some distraction while she prodded at his still sore wounds. The blaring noise and fast-moving images were starting to give Billy a headache; he almost asked her to turn it off, when a news report caught his attention.

"A strange turn of events last night at the Caring Hands homeless shelter resulted in one of the city's heroes being placed under arrest," said the news anchor, "and now, we are told, is facing jail time. Captain Hammer's speech at the dedication ceremony of Caring Hands' new downtown facility was interrupted by an armed intruder, who identified himself as Dr. Horrible. According to witnesses, Captain Hammer assaulted the would-be villain and threatened him with his own weapon. When Hammer attempted to fire the weapon, it exploded, and Dr. Horrible was killed. No other deaths or injuries were reported, but Captain Hammer was arrested at the scene, and is now facing charges of involuntary manslaughter. The new Caring Hands shelter will still open as scheduled."


End file.
